UAlbany AD “confident” series with Siena will continue

UAlbany athletic director Lee McElroy said Thursday he’s optimistic he’ll reach an agreement with Siena counterpart John D’Argenio that will allow the crosstown rivalry to continue beyond Saturday’s game at Times Union Center.

The contract, signed in 2001 and already extended once, is in its final season.

“John D’Argenio and I have been working at this since April or May,” McElroy said. “It’s going to happen. I’m very confident, and the reason I’m so confident is I’ve had a great working relationship with John D’Argenio for the past 7 1/2 years. We’re going to continue to work as we have on the previous two contracts and make this a good deal for all parties involved.”

McElroy did not reveal exactly what he’s seeking in a new deal. Under the current contract, it’s a Siena home game and UAlbany gets 1,600 tickets to sell and keep the revenue.

McElroy was asked if he’s seeking a contract with “more equitable” terms.

“I wouldn’t say `equitable,’ ” McElroy replied. “I think what you have is an event that’s grown. At the time of the original agreement, we were a different program, obviously, than we are now. We’re going to have to look at the contract through a different prism. I think all the contract parties agree it’s in the best interest of everybody for the agreement to really reflect the quality of the event. What other sporting event in the Capital Region draws more than 10,000 fans?”

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UAlbany is playing either the Boston Celtics or the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, at least according to Great Danes coach Will Brown, who kept the pounding the drumbeat of the underdog as his team prepares to play Siena at Times Union Center.

“They average 90 points a game, and it takes us multiple games to hit 90,” Brown said after Wednesday’s practice. “They have guys that walk faster than we sprint. This is going to be an uphill battle for us. They score it very easily and they score it from multiple positions. They’re very well-coached and the way the play forces you sometimes to play at that type of (faster) tempo. f it’s played at their tempo, most of the establishments in downtown Albany will probably start serving a little early because the game can get out of hand.”

Asked if UAlbany has ”the horses” to run with Siena, Brown said, “We have horses, but they’re not going to win any races. (Siena coach Fran McCaffery) has the horses that would win some big-time money up in Saratoga. My horses are the ones you have as pets. Our horses are just walking around the grass and a couple of young kids are playing with them as pets.”

Brown dryly suggested the Great Danes will take a shot-clock violation on their first possession just so they can say they ran 35 seconds off the clock.

But seriously, folks …..

“We’re going to make this as ugly of a game as possible,” Brown said. “We’re not going to get caught up playing the way they want to play …. We’re going to stick to doing what we’ve been doing. We’re going to be very physical, we’re going to defend, we’re going to rebound, we’re going to share the ball. Methodical? Probably. Ugly? Probably. But we know what we need to do. We can’t get out of our element because if we do, the Siena faithful will be very happy.”

Brown repeated his comments from earlier in the week on the radio that he wants to extend the contract with Siena, which expires after this game, only if UAlbany gets a better deal.

“Regardless of who wins, it’s an opportunity to bring 10,000 people to downtown Albany in the Times Union Center,” Brown said. “It’s great. It’s a win-win for the fans and the community. I’ll leave it at that. It’s a game that should be played every single year, if everything is fair for all parties involved. We’ve got a date (for next year’s game). I’m hoping the game is played. But there’s something things that need to be taken care of and I’ll let (UAlbany athletic director) Lee McElroy handle the negotiations on that. I don’t think there’s another sporting event at the Times Union Center downtown that’s going to draw this kind of excitement.”

Isn’t ROG (who is the best sportscaster/personality in the area by far) on the UAlbany payroll…? Will is busting out all of the ol’ gippers bags of tricks this week, playing the Celtics, yeah right… he is the youngster in all of this, not his kids…